ULSTER 14 LEINSTER 13

While some of the names may not have been exactly familiar, the interprovincial passion was the same as ever this evening at the Kingspan Stadium, where Ulster exacted some revenge for their Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final defeat with a single-point victory over fierce rivals Leinster. Marcus Rea – an early replacement for Sean Reidy – was the hero on his senior debut, contributing a Man of the Match performance and game-clinching try in the 60^th minute after a seemingly interminable period of Ulster pressure along the Leinster five-metre line. Impressive also was David Shanahan, whose sheer grit and determination carved him out Ulster’s first try on the half-hour mark, and despite first-half scores from Jimmy O’Brien and Fergus McFadden, the hosts were good value for the win. Darren Cave led a much-changed selection from outside centre, with winger David Busby making his first appearance of the season and Rea vying for his first senior cap from the replacements bench. The remainder of the Ulster backline featured Michael Lowry at full-back, Peter Nelson alongside Cave in midfield, Johnny McPhillips at out-half and Shanahan at scrum-half. Up front Andrew Warwick, John Andrew and Ross Kane formed a heavyweight front row, with Leinster loanee Ian Nagle partnering Alan O’Connor in the second row, ahead of a back row of Marcus’s brother Matthew Rea, Clive Ross and Reidy. An early charge-down of a clearance attempt from McPhillips put Ulster under immediate pressure, but staunch defence kept the blue waves at bay until full-back O’Brien just let a pass stray into touch 10 metres from the try-line. A missed Ross Byrne penalty from 45 metres was followed by two moments of indiscipline from the visitors – the first an apparent headbutt by McFadden on Reidy and the second a high tackle, both sanctioned only by penalties. With Reidy off the field injured, Rea made his bow on 15 minutes, soon making an impression with tenacious ball-carrying over half-way in Ulster’s best move of the match thus far, brought to an end only when Lowry got outnumbered on the ‘22’ chasing down McPhillips’ chip. Leinster responded with interest, O’Brien this time getting his timing just right as Byrne spread play from right to left, and benefitting from a two-on-one overlap for an easy touchdown in the corner. The Byrne conversion missed, however, and virtually straight from the restart, Ulster struck back. Good vision from Cave sent Shanahan on his way, and although clobbered twice in two different phases en route to the try-line, sheer determination from the scrum-half – along with a helping hand over the line from some of his bulkier team-mates – won the Dubliner his seventh try of the season. The McPhillips conversion gave Ulster the most ephemeral of leads, however, as it was swiftly followed by Byrne’s first successful points of the evening - a 39^th minute penalty – and a McFadden try late into added time, sending the hosts in at the break six points adrift. Half-Time Score Ulster 7 Leinster 13 A trademark darting run from Lowry early in the second half raised the Kingspan Stadium decibel level significantly, and as Ulster pressed from a subsequent penalty and two successive scrums, O’Connor was only just held up under the posts. The next five-metre scrum proved just as fruitless despite Ulster’s best efforts, but with lock Josh Murphy yellow-carded for persistent team infringements, the hosts re-set at five metres twice more, but still – with the clock now nearing 58 minutes – the breakthrough would not come. A change in tactic saw Ulster opt for the lineout with their next penalty, their patience and persistence finally paying off on 62 minutes when Rea seized control five metres out and bludgeoned his way through Caelan Doris and Nick McCarthy for the score, converted by Nelson to establish a single-point lead. Poor kicking from both sides saw possession surrendered cheaply several times as the clock neared 70 minutes, and just when Leinster looked to be mounting a serious final challenge with five minutes left to play, replacement hooker Ronan Kelleher knocked on in the Ulster ‘22’ to gift his opponents some much-needed breathing space. Despite one nervous moment where possession was temporarily lost then quickly regained, Ulster saw out the remaining minutes treading water in their own half, grateful to kick to touch as soon as the clock turned to red. The win, which sees Ulster finish the season proper in second place in Conference B on 63 points, is the perfect shot in the arm ahead of next Saturday’s Guinness Pro14 play-off at home to Connacht – the only side to win away at the Kingspan Stadium this season. Full-Time Score Ulster 14 Leinster 13 Ulster (15 – 9) Michael Lowry; David Busby, Darren Cave (c), Peter Nelson, Angus Kernohan; Johnny McPhillips, David Shanahan (1 – 8) Andrew Warwick, John Andrew, Ross Kane, Ian Nagle, Alan O’Connor, Matthew Rea, Clive Ross, Sean Reidy Replacements (16 – 23) Adam McBurney, Tommy O’Hagan, Tom O’Toole, Nick Timoney, Marcus Rea, Jonny Stewart, Jack Owens, Robert Lyttle Leinster (15 – 9) Jimmy O’Brien; Fergus McFadden, Joseph Tomane, Noel Reid, Dave Kearney; Ross Byrne, Nick McCarthy (1 – 8) Jack McGrath, Bryan Byrne, Michael Bent, Josh Murphy, Oisín Dowling, Max Deegan, Will Connors, Caelan Doris Replacements (16 – 23) Ronan Kelleher, Peter Dooley, Vakh Abdaladze, Ryan Baird, Scott Penny, Patrick Patterson, Ciarán Frawley, Barry Daly